Saturday, January 25, 2020

Bostons Artsy Youth Struggle for a Future :: Journalism Essays

Boston's Artsy Youth Struggle for a Future Liz Meyrovich, 19, moved 3,000 miles away from the Portland, Oregon home she grew up in to attend Emerson College, one of Boston’s many prestigious performing arts schools. Unlike many other aspiring actors and actresses who move to Los Angeles straight out of high school and work in minimum wage service industry jobs while going on numerous auditions, Meyrovich decided that she would get a degree. She was a musical theatre major, hoping that a degree from Emerson would fuel her career as an actress. But one year and $32,000 later, she came to the realization that it wasn’t going to happen. "I’d heard that, something like three percent, of Emerson graduates get a job as an actor,† said Meyrovich. â€Å"I didn’t think it was worth it.† Meyrovich, along with thousands of other young aspiring actors and musicians, was drawn to Boston for one of its many performing arts schools, which includes Berklee College of Music, The Boston Conservatory, and The New England Conservatory. But she, like so many others, realized that it might not be the best way to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. The increasing costs of tuition for these private schools combined with tough industry standards and a struggling economy have left many young adults in a lose-lose situation. Those who do graduate are left with thousands of dollars in debt and a degree that they cannot use to pursue other career options. As a result, Boston is left with a large Bohemian-like subculture of young artists, actors and musicians who are struggling to make a future for themselves. "Everyone in Boston is in a band,† Meyrovich joked. â€Å"Everybody is a musician or an actor. It’s kind of scary to see just how many people there are around here who are like me – who want the same thing that I want, because unfortunately, there isn’t enough room for all of us. And it sucks because a lot of really talented people don’t make it because of that.† The big decision for many young adults like Meyrovich is whether or not to pursue a degree. The recent fame and success of Berklee dropouts John Mayer and Gavin DeGraw have many hopeful young performers questioning whether or not college is necessary. Does the entertainment industry care more about credentials or talent? According to Janet Neely, a Career Services Associate at Emerson College, training is necessary to become a performer.

Friday, January 17, 2020

The Chemistry of Blood Colours

Blood is a necessary component of the majority of living organisms (all vertebrates and some invertebrates); it carries vital nutrients, oxygen and proteins to body tissues and carries away waste products. Blood, although most commonly red, can also be found in such colours as green, blue, clear, pink and violet. However, the common misconception surrounding the idea that human blood is blue before oxygenation is false. All human blood is varying shades of red; these wild alternate colours are found in other animal species such as certain species of crabs and insects. This colouring of the blood can be seen as an indicator of oxygen carrying ability or make apparent the metal with the highest concentration in the blood. The colour containing portions of blood are known as respiratory pigments; these pigments are metal containing proteins which combine reversibly with oxygen. Respiratory pigments are found within cells of blood and their primary function is to aid in the transportation of molecular oxygen. There are four unanimously recognised respiratory pigments, these are; hemoglobin, followed by hemocyanin, then chlorocruorin and Hemerythrin. These four pigments occur in greater percentages and are far more efficient in carrying oxygen than the few other pigments known. These lesser known pigments (not all fully recognised as respiratory pigments) include; vanadium chromagen and pinnaglobin. Haemoglobin, the most common respiratory pigment on earth is the pigment found in all vertebrates (excluding a few Antarctic fish) including humans. Hemoglobin is located within the platelet component of blood giving the distinctive red colouring associated with blood both when oxygenated and deoxygenated, when oxygenated it is a bright red and by the time it is traveling In the veins back to the heart, blood containing haemoglobin is a dark red in colour. This colour is due to the presence of iron in the haemoglobin. Iron is the central atom of the heme group ( Without iron in the heme group, there would be no site for the oxygen to bind) One molecule of haemoglobin, with iron at the centre, can carry four oxygen molecules. Fig 1: Hemoglobin structure Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Fig1. 2: Hemoglobin, human adult, heme group Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Hemocyanin is the second most evident form of respiratory pigment, found in mollusks, arthropods and some insects. Blood containing Hemocyanin is blue in colour when oxygenated and transparent in appearance when deoxygenated. Oxygenation causes a colour change between the colorless Cu(I) deoxygenated form and the blue Cu(II) oxygenated form. This blue colour is due to the presence of Two copper atom at the centre of hemocyanin particles and unlike haemoglobin, only two oxygen molecules can reversibly combine with the metal proteins at the centre of the hemocyanin particles therefore it is four times less efficient as an oxygen carrier than haemoglobin. Fig. 2: Hemocyanin, deoxygenated and oxygenated Image: (htt) Chlorocruorin is an iron, metalprotein, respiratory pigment with many similarities to hemoglobin. The most notable of the differences between hemoglobin and chlorocruorin is the abnormal heme group structure of chlorocruorin and unlike hemoglobin it floats freely within the plasma of blood rather than being confined to red blood cells. The chemical colour change of chlorocruorin bears resemblance to both hemoglobin and hemerythrin, changing from a green when deoxygenated to red when oxygenated (two oxygen molecules reversibly combine one iron atom). This ration puts chlorocruorin at 25% the efficiency of hemoglobin. Fig. 3: Chlorocruorin structure Image: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2013) Hemerythrin is the third respiratory pigment containing iron, found in marine invertebrates (sipunculids and brachiopods) and used for oxygen transfer and/or storage. Although containing the same metal protein, hemerythrin differs from both haemoglobin and chlorocruorin as it contains two more iron atoms which reversibly combine and are connected by an oxygen molecule. This means that the efficiency of this pigment is 25% as effective as haemoglobin and on par for effectiveness with chlorocruorin. When the oxygen molecule combines directly (no heme group) with the iron atoms a colour change occurs; deoxygenated hemerythrin is near colourless changing to a pink/violet colour when oxygenated. Fig. 4: Hemerythrin structure found in sea worms Image: (Coleman, 2009) Other than the four major respiratory pigments, giving blood colour, there is dispute over two other pigments, little is known of these pigments. They are; Pinnaglobin, a brown pigment found in the blood of a mollusc of the genus Pinna, this pigment demonstrates similarities to the pigment Hemocyanin but contains manganese as the metal atom in place of copper. The other proposed pigment (idea is disputed) vanadium chromagen, is said to be light green in colour, contain metal atoms of Vanadium and is found in sea squirts, ascidians and tunicates. Bibliography (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://web. tock. com/kalee/chem32/spec/ (2008, 04 13). Retrieved from http://www. klingon. org/smboard/index. php? topic=1377. 0 Wiktionary. (2012, 11 11). Retrieved from http://en. wiktionary. org/wiki/vanadium_chromagen Coleman, W. F. (2009, 04 11). Dept. f Chemistry, Wellesley College. Retrieved from http://academics. wellesley. edu/Chemistry/Flick/chem341/hemoglobin1. html Department of Biology, Davidson college . (2005). Retrieved from http://www. bio. davidson. edu/Courses/Molbio/MolStudents/spring2005/Heiner/hemoglobin. html Encyclopedia britannica. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/260910/hemocyanin Frey, R. C. (n. d. ). Hemoglobin and the Heme Group. Retrieved from Department of chemistry, Washington University:

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Understanding the Italian Conditional Perfect Tense

The conditional perfect (condizionale passato), like all compound tenses in Italian, is formed with the condizionale presente of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle of the acting verb. Conjugated forms of avere and essere appear in the table below. Here are a few examples of the condizionale passato in action. Remember that verbs conjugated with essere must change their endings to agree in number and gender with the subject: Avremmo potuto ballare tutta la notte. (We could have danced all night.)Avreste dovuto invitarlo. (You ought to have invited him.)Saremmo andati volentieri alla Scala, ma non abbiamo potuto. (We would gladly have gone to La Scala, but we werent able to.)Mirella sarebbe andata volentieri al cinema. (Mirella would have been happy to go to the cinema.) Understanding Auxiliary Verbs Since the conditional perfect is formed with the condizionale presente of the auxiliary verb avere or essere its necessary to understand the usage of these verbs. In Italian, an auxiliary verb—either avere or essere—is used whenever forming compound tenses. The auxiliary (or helping) verb, in combination with another, gives a particular meaning to the conjugated verb form. For example, compound tenses such as the passato prossimo are formed with the present indicative of the auxiliary verb avere or essere and the past participle (participio passato). When forming the passato prossimo, which auxiliary verb should be used—avere or essere? How do you decide? Transitive Verbs Take Avere Avere: 1 to have (got): Ho molti amici. I have many friends; 2 to have, to own: Ha una villa in campagna. He has a house in the country; 3 to have on, to wear: Maria ha un vestito nuovo. Maria has on a new dress. Like the verb essere (to be), avere is used in myriad grammatical and linguistic situations. Learning the many conjugations and uses of the verb is crucial to the study of the Italian language. Transitive verbs are those that take a direct object. For instance: Io ho mangiato una pera. (I ate a pear.)Loro hanno già   studiato la lezione. (They already studied the lesson.)Non ho mai visto Genova. (Ive never visited Genoa.) The compound tense of a transitive verb is formed with the present indicative of the auxiliary verb avere and the past participle (participio passato). The past participle is invariable and ends in -ato, -uto, or -ito. In phrases with a transitive verb, the direct object of the verb may be expressed explicitly or implied. For example: Io ho mangiato tardi. (I ate late.) Intransitive Verbs Take Essere Essere: 1 to be: La bambina à ¨ piccola The child is small; Chi à ¨? - Sono io Who is it? - Its me; Siamo noi its us 2 to be: Che ore sono? - Sono le quattro What time is it? It is four oclock. Essere is an irregular verb (un verbo irregolare); it does not follow a predictable pattern of conjugation. Note that the form sono is used with both io and loro. Grammatical NotesEssere is used with di name of a city to indicate city of origin (the city someone is from). To indicate country of origin, an adjective of nationality is generally used: He is from France He is French È francese. Simply put, intransitive verbs are those that do not take a direct object. These verbs usually express movement or a state of being. The auxiliary verb essere plus the past participle is used to form the passato prossimo and other compounds of almost all intransitive verbs (and the past participle must agree in number and gender with the subject.) The table below contains conjugations of arrivare, crescere, and partire in the passato prossimo. Condizionale Presente of the Auxiliary Verb Avere or Essere PERSON SINGULAR PLURAL I (io) avrei, sarei (noi) avremmo, saremmo II (tu) avresti, saresti (voi) avreste, sareste III (lui, lei, Lei) avrebbe, sarebbe (loro, Loro) avrebbero, sarebbero